and then president karzai really threw cold water on things when he said that afghanistan would not be able to provide for its own security for 15 to 20 years let alone 18 months. so the question is this, when july, 2011 rolls around, will we be at the beginning of the troop withdrawal or just in the middle of it? will we be standing on the cliff or going down the ramp? and will we be at the inflection or point of no return in an open-ended war. the american people and our troops deserve a solid plan. we have the right to know exactly what we're getting into before we start spending billions of dollars more and more and more of our troops' blood. that's why congress must ask the administration some tough questions and demand better answers. you know that's our responsibility, that's our job. especially before we authorize another dime for this foreign occupation. we must make sure that the next appropriation has a much better balance between military and civilian need, a balance that will be considerbly better than the last appropriation. we must make sure it includes sufficient funds